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One of my favorite quotes from the movie “Inception” comes during an interaction between Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and Saito, played by Ken Watanabe.

Cobb asks the question, “What is the most resilient parasite?”

“Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm?”

No.

“An idea,” he answers for all of us. “Resilient… highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate.”

I take this further and suggest that we need to guard our minds. We need to guard the thoughts that take hold in there. These thoughts, taken form as ideas, affect our actions and dealings in the world.

All of us already have ideas that have taken form as patterns and ways of living. Many of these have existed since our earliest days. Our internal monologue contributes. Limiting beliefs play in our minds and take root as ideas.

To combat the negative ideas that fight for our attention, we have to implant positive ideas that can be immediately recalled. Positive, self-affirming and motivating thoughts will squash the negative ones that seep into our daily activities.

Without this backup, we can watch the negative ideas infiltrate and reshape our thoughts on things that we even previously enjoyed. Suddenly, the book we are reading and enjoy seems awful and uninteresting. The interaction with a person that was exhilarating and exciting, has a shroud of negativity and deception. The desire to create art that has never been seen before goes from motivating to shameful.

Guard your mind.

Personally, I limit the amount of outside influence that my mind intakes. I won’t watch every movie. I won’t read every book or magazine/internet article. Not all music touches my ears. We don’t “have” to experience everything. I choose not to.

Yesterday, the focus was on realizing that there is no “right time” for taking actions in Life and encouragement to not spend all of one’s lifetime waiting for that time that will never actually come.

Today I add that Life itself is not a race. There is no hurry. We benefit greatly from enjoying all the scenery and fine details in every Life situation.

So, enjoy the fine details and pace yourself, but realize that there is no “right time” to take actions. Simple, right?

You’re frowning. You’re calling this bullshit. I know I would. How can I have it both ways, when both seem like two different ways of acting?

They’re two different perspectives, both applicable at various times. You need to know when to apply each point of view.

You’ve just thrown your hands into the air. HOW, you are asking, is anyone supposed to know which is the correct choice?

Simple. Because we know. It’s Flow. The Path. The Beam. It’s the internal voice that always has the wisdom we seek.

It’s because we’re connected to all. The atoms that make up our selves also make up the elements of space. Carl Sagan taught us this.

“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars,” he said. “We are made of starstuff.”

We’re the micro to the larger macro. And when the two work in unison, flow occurs.

It’s that flow that guides all of our decisions, choices and actions. When we listen, magic occurs.

Don’t think that I’ve got all of this figured out: I don’t. It’s difficult. It requires constant diligence. But throughout the process we learn. I learn. And soak in all the scenery during the process.

Have you ever said this about any endeavor you were interested in undertaking? Have you looked at yourself and the opportunity and decided that there was something about you that wouldn’t be “ready” to take on the task?

I know I have. Many times. Over and over again, letting opportunities fall to the wayside because I wasn’t “ready.” The time wasn’t “right.” Years go by, I get older. Gray hairs show up in my beard. Opportunities still not taken.

The “not ready/not the right time” mindset is utter nonsense. There never is a “right” time. We will never be fully “ready.”

The point of this life is to take on things as Life presents them to us. Call it the Flow of Life. If you read Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series, he refers to this phenomenon as The Beam.that guides the path of our existence. Whatever you choose to call it, this is a real thing.

Follow it, and Live. The Path does not care if you are ready or not. Seize what is presented to you.

When you are honest with yourself, you know exactly what you want and exactly how to achieve those things.

We spend so much time distracted with words and wishes of our families, friends, parents elders and so-called experts. All of these people claim to know better than we do about our own selves.

No.

We know what is best for our own lives. In listening to and entertaining the external distractions, we confuse our internal knowledge of self. We spend inordinate amounts of time pursuing what we do not want.

In remaining true to ourselves and true to our souls, we do what is necessary to achieve what we want from this Life.

To quote retired Navy SEAL John “Jocko” Willink, we should “get default aggressive” in the pursuit and achievement of our goals. This does not mean to run around punching people in the face while taking what we want. Rather, the things you want, Go And Get Them.

Make the damn effort to make the Life you want.

It’s your Life. Don’t waste your time thinking about what external forces want for you.

Own You.

My HungryMan Breakfast. Because I know what my body needs for optimal energy.